Football is a game that lifts national spirits and heals national wounds. If that isn’t beautiful, I don’t know what is.
Every four years, we’re treated to the pinnacle of what the world calls “The Beautiful Game.” And just like millions of workers all over the world, at my workplace, I’ve been discretely watching World Cup 2018 Russia.
In the U.S., many sports fans treat ‘soccer’ (note: we should really get on board with the rest of the world and call it what it is, FOOTball) as a second-class sport.
Americans eat, sleep, and breathe other sports–baseball, football, and basketball, in particular. Yes, there’s more interest and participation in soccer in the U.S., but the sport is nowhere near in popularity what it is in the rest of the world. It’s why the World Cup is exactly that–played for the championship of the world.
Football reigns supreme largely because other sports are provincial in nature. Cricket and rugby might be popular in England, but they don’t translate well across the globe. American football is popular in the U.S. and Canada only. “America’s Pastime,” baseball, is the rage in only a few other places–Latin America and Japan, prominently. Basketball is football’s lone international rival.
Nigerian fans support their Super Eagles at WC ’18 (photo, Sports Nigeria)
Why is football so popular internationally? Its pure beauty is one reason. Another reason is that it’s a game of the rich and the poor alike, among British elites and Jamaican street kids. And–let’s not forget–that it pits countries against countries, become a big part of a nation’s psyche–something that’s especially evident during World Cup years.
But, sadly, World Cup 2018 is the first time since 1986 that the U.S. won’t be participating. That outcome was sealed last October when we Americans lost (shockingly), 2-1, to Trinidad and Tobago.
With political discord quickly becoming an American trademark, this year–perhaps more than any other–we could have used ‘World Cup magic.’ I say that because I know what the World Cup has done for other countries.
–In 2006, the Ivory Coast was in the midst of a civil war. When the team qualified for the World Cup, Captain Didier Drogba made a plea for peace. Miraculously–and after four years of internal strife–the country united behind the team and a peace deal with signed in 2007. The Ivory Coast has been at peace since.
–In 2010, the World Cup provided Greece with a much-needed reprieve from its economic crisis.
–In 2011, the Japanese team helped lift the spirits of a nation following the devastating tsunamis at the northern coast.
Maybe these examples are short-term solutions, akin to putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. But, maybe, just maybe, they tell us more than that.
–Where else can Senegal be more powerful than France (as it did, 1-0, at the 2002 World Cup)?
–Where else can Ghana dominate the United States (as it did, 2-1, in 2006)?
–Where else can Mexico, then Korea, outdo Germany (as they did, 1-0 and 2-0, respectively, this year)?
Even though we can’t root for the U.S. this year, I encourage you to sit back and enjoy a truly international phenomenon.
It’s a game that has lifted spirits and healed nations. And if that isn’t beautiful, I don’t know what is.
